


pluck me like an immortal daisy (you love me, you love me not)

by blossomlullaby



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Eventual Smut, F/F, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Slow Burn, choni
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-09 19:09:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17412566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blossomlullaby/pseuds/blossomlullaby
Summary: toni prided herself in not being scared of anything, exclude spiders and other insects of course, but she had to admit she was terrified of her. terrified of what lied behind the protective walls that separated the stranger from the rest of the world.cheryl didn't talk, let alone smile or laugh which made her all that more fascinating and as hard as toni tried to stay away, she couldn't fight the strength that clawed at her stomach every time she saw her, like it was begging for more. she was already drawn in, past the point where she could stop herself and walk away.there was mystery painted all over crimson hair and toni's entire body had an aching to solve it.ORan angsty choni story where the new girl cheryl blossom just can't help but tear toni topaz down bit by bit.ORi wanted to write a story that addresses cheryl’s mental illnesses and the difficulty of being a closested lesbian since the riverdale writers do not.





	pluck me like an immortal daisy (you love me, you love me not)

**Author's Note:**

> i have tried to write this story multiple times with various ships but have never gotten to an ending or have finished due to lack of passion however choni wholeheartedly fits the story line so i'm going to go for it one last time! hope you like :)

walking into riverdale high on monday morning used to never make toni’s heart beat just a bit faster than it’s normal, steady pace. in fact, it always did the opposite; it didn’t only slow her down, but it slowed everything down, dragging out the day to make it more miserable than it already was. normally she would spend her classes staring off into space, but now all her mind could wander to was the mysterious new girl that was in her head day and night.

 

school was never something toni had enjoyed; particularly because she felt she wasn’t the smartest student and it was a waste of time considering she had no plans of going to college. really, she dreaded most of it—especially waking up in the morning knowing an entire day of pointless lectures were just head of her—but recently something had changed. since the new girl stepped foot into riverdale high, toni had come to find that she had something to look forward to. it was strange, really, how a stranger had birthed the butterflies that now fluttered violently in toni’s stomach and brought out the nervous little girl the serpent didn’t even know existed in her.

 

the obscure girl noticed toni at one point to which the serpent wasn’t particularly proud of because it meant she had caught toni staring, but subtle wasn't something that would go on an ‘about me’ page if the pinkette had to make one.

 

still, the girl noticed her.

 

it happened fourth period english on thursday last week when the Delphic crimson was called on to answer a question. toni thought she’d find out her name then but it seemed like nobody knew who this girl was or where she had come, not even the teacher. he addressed her as _‘you, in the back row’_ and she answered so quickly and quietly, not to mention correctly, toni couldn’t help but glance to the back row of desks where she was hiding. the serpent’s not to sure about what happened afterwards because sometime in between the girl answering and toni leering, their eyes had met and toni had found herself shooting her head back to front of the classroom faster than electricity. but she did know however, that the girl didn't look away for as long as toni stared at her.

 

she tried to forget about her after the awkward encounter, tried to ignore the odd girl when she walked down the hallway or when she silently attended her english, history and math class, but it never worked.

 

toni was already drawn in beyond recovery. 

 

she’s not exactly sure when it all started or why it had to be this particular girl, or anyone in general for that matter—she had been fine on her own—but she wasn’t stupid enough to deny that the quickening of her heartbeat wasn't coincidental to when she was in the same building as the red head. and thank goodness she hadn’t seen her today yet; starting off her morning with a fresh image of fiery hair in her head complimented by her crimson aesthetic would only cause the serpent to crave her more.

 

the hallways were congested with people pulling and placing books in out of their lockers as they talked about their (un)eventful weekends. blocking out the sounds of her peers being harder than toni expected, the brag of reggie mantel motor-boating her fellow vixen tina patel behind _pop's_  (his word's, not toni's) was now haunting her ears and something she definitely could’ve gone without hearing. but that kind of talk coming from reggie wasn’t surprising of the quarterback, it seemed as though each week he had more stories, along with chuck clayton, about the girls they had gotten with.

 

the pinkette stood at her locker with her mouth open agape, the tip of her tongue pointed out in concentration, thoughts of the newbie were filling her mind once again: was she really as intimidating and mean as everyone said she was?

 

she slammed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth at the thought. that same question had been circulating her mind since she first her word about the girl and it was driving her crazy. _goddammit_ she was in a _gang_ for christsake, what did it matter if the girl was mean? she already swore to herself she wouldn’t get involved with the girl, it didn’t matter.

 

“it’s 0312, babe” veronica sighed as she came up next to the serpent, breaking her out of her thoughts.

 

“hmm?” toni hummed, turning her head to look at the brunette besides her with furrowed eyebrows.  _what the fuck was she talking about?_  

 

“your combination...” veronica said pointing to the still closed locker held by the purple spiral lock.

 

“oh right,” the smaller girl chuckled, her cheeks and neck flushing with a hot sensation, before she brought up her black polished fingertips to put in her code. god how long had she been standing there? 

 

“so, how was your weekend?” veronica asked and while the small girl knew she was trying to be considerate, they hadn't seen or spoken to each other since friday, she subtly rolled her eyes. they all did they exact same things every weekend, perks of living in a small town much to toni's dislike, the need for a conversation like this was as unnecessary as insufferable—a constant reminder of how boring her life was. 

 

“it was alright," toni shrugged. "i had to babysit as usual” she said allowing a more obvious roll of the eyes, prompting a laugh from the girl beside her. the pinkette was well aware she needed the money, her grandfather was only getting older and someone had to provide, but there was something so cynical about the northside brats she had to babysit that made the serpent exceptionally close to saying fuck it and leaving her family to squabble. “how was yours?”

 

“pretty uneventful,” the taller girl shrugged.

 

“figured,” toni nodded with a purseof her lips. she knew nothing happened this weekend—there wasn’t ever anything to do in riverdale, north or south, except go to the occasional house party or hangout at _pop's_. sometimes she liked to question whether boredom was invented in the small town because while the lack of spontaneity didn’t matter so much when she was a kid, all she wanted now was to have something exciting finally happen in the personal hell she clamed the town to be. “the most i was going to do was go to the bijou with sweets, but of course, work duty calls.”

 

“hmm, a movie with sweet pea… interesting,” veronica raised her eyebrow.

 

“ew gross, ronnie." toni shook her head furiously in disgust, her nose scrunched up for added effect, “you insisting _that_ never fails to catch me off guard. for the last time sweet pea's my best friend, he doesn't like me like that.”

 

“no…” veronica drawled out, “i’m your best friend. he's your friend and because of that he's allowed like you without any guilt. that extra friendliness isn't just friendliness toni." veronica sang, her eyes narrowing at the smaller girl in a rightful manner, "argue with yourself.”

 

“whatever, lodge. you’re delusional.”

 

“yeah yeah, denial gets you nowhere,” veronica rolled her eyes, playfully of course, before turning her attention away from the girl beside her with a heavy sigh.

 

the pinkette’s best friend hadn't been in riverdale for as long as her of course, toni had been here since birth and veronica had only moved here a year ago from new york city—a grudge the brunette swore she would forever hold over her mothers heads—but they were exhausted of it just the same. of course it wasn't all that bad; they both had amazing people by their side apart from each other and they had their fair share of riveting south and north side shenanigans but nonetheless the excitement was never lasting and those days ended as soon as southside high was forced to shut down. and for the last year nothing had stumbled upon riverdale that would drastically change their lives.

 

toni heard the taller girl let out another brief sigh while she collected her books from her locker, before an exciting quick ‘ _oh_ ’ of what toni could only assume as realization of rememberance left the brunette’s lips.  

 

“by the way do you know that girl?”

 

toni and the omnipotent itself were both surprised at how quickly the pinkette put the new girl on top of the list of who it could be before she even saw who veronica was talking about. though, she wiped the thought out completely, it couldn't possibly the girl and neither did she want it to he, she hadn’t prepared herself to see her today. the short girl hoped it wasn't her the same way she hoped it was just her mind playing tricks on her when she turned around and sure enough the girl encompassing her thoughts every minute of the day was passing in front of them with her head held high, each click of her red heel making the pinkette feel smaller and smaller.

 

sometimes toni wondered if the girl knew about the thoughts that plagued the serpents mind and purposely tried to make them even more torturous because toni could swear the girl got more beautiful every day. red hair parted to the side curved in the most natural way, like the girl woke up and all she had to do was brush it. the fitted red skirt hugged her thighs and hips perfectly and the black off the shoulders crop top she was wearing showed just enough skin to make toni remember her for the entire day.

 

“toni?” veronica nudged the smaller girl beside her, the sudden trance on her best friend starting to become alarming. toni could hear veronica call to her, anything said before that not at all, but still she couldn't look away. she didn't understand what was so entrancing about this girl but she assumed it was just that. toni had seen a lot of beautiful girls in her life but there was something about this girl that made toni never want stop looking at her, so she did just that. the pinkette's doughy brown eyes followed the red heads figure, a pout forming on glossed lips when she saw the girl turning the corner and the last fleeting sight of red hair disappeared. “antoinette?” veronica snapped, putting her head in toni's line of sight.

 

“hmm? what?”

 

“i said do you know her?” veronica asked again with a roll of her eyes before resting her hand on her hip and jutting out her stance. "for the third time i might add."

 

“oh uh, sorry." toni shook herself out her gaze, the skin on the back of her neck growing hot at almost being caught. "no, i don’t know her. do you?” 

 

“no not really," veronica shook her head as well. "but get this," the brunette whispered with a mischievous smile that the shorter girl knew all to well, "apparently her and her family used to live here and one day just suddenly disappeared." and there's the gossip toni was waiting for. the pinkette rolled her eyes, a small snort coming out her nose before she crossed her arms giving her an amused look. "hey don't give me that face!" veronica scoffed. "i'm serious toni. i mean, radio silence disappeared. nobody knew what happened to them or even knew they left until the mailman noticed the mail he was dropping wasn't being collected. pretty weird if you ask me.”

 

"yeah, well no one is asking you ronnie and even if that is true. i wouldn't know," toni shrugged. "i didn't start getting involved in north side affairs till last year."

 

toni would never admit it to veronica, but it was pretty weird to her too. she meant it when she said she only started getting involved in the north side issues when she was transferred to riverdale high her sophomore year, hell she didn't even bother looking the north sides direction when jughead and betty started dating unlike her other serpents. but toni does briefly remember a frantic time with the serpents a few years ago that had to do with a north side family leaving town. and despite toni not wanting to believe that it was this girls family (from her remembering it not being a good time amongst the serpents so she can only imagine what happened) she knows the brunette probably acquired the information from her parents so it had to be true.

 

"no one might be asking me but i'm saying it," veronica rolled her eyes. "it's weird," she stated again with a huff before running her hands through her hair. "either way, she moved in next door to me," the brunette frowned. "i had no idea until this weekend when the truck with the rest of their stuff arrived and she went to pick up some of her things before she disappeared back into the house. i remember seeing her last week at school, but i had no idea we were neighbors.

 

“oh.”

 

there was a moment where toni felt okay, maybe even happy she was learning something about the girl in her thoughts, and she would've have cherished that almost minuscule amount of time if she knew that a second later it would disappear. there was an ache, a twisted, uncomfortable feeling in small girls stomach and it wasn't cramps or gas or anything normal that would happen. it was like toni was jealous of her—of veronica. she had never really been the kind of girl who jealous, obviously the feeling foreign to her by her discomfort, so when she got the sudden urge to go home, pack her things, and move in with veronica—an offer the girl had given her since freshman year—leaving her grandfather helpless toni knew she was starting to lose it.

 

“she’s very pretty though," veronica confessed. "very circa 1940s don’t you think?”

 

“uhm, yeah i guess,” toni breathed before she bit down on her bottom lip. “you didn’t like, talk to her right… or did you?”

 

“no, she doesn’t seem like the girl who likes to hold conversations, not that i could even if she was because she practically stayed hidden the entire weekend except for that one time she came out,” veronica pointed out. "besides, my mom told me to stay clear of her," the brunette shrugged as if there was nothing else she could do about it. "though, she lives right next door so i imagine that'll be impossible."

 

“right.”

 

there was something about the way veronica described her neighbor that made toni all that much more interested. she assumed there was a reason behind it all, behind the whole dark, twisted and secretive impression she put up for everyone. she didn’t have any proof of course or any reason as to why she thought it was an act, but she did. toni thought there was something more and for any other person, the serpent really wouldn’t care but toni thought it was safe to say that the girl circulating her mind wasn’t like anyone else, or at least anyone else in riverdale that was for sure.

 

the bell rang for first period beckoning a sigh from the two best friends simultaneously. they had history together and there was nothing worse than the nasally voice of mrs. haggly this early morning... or ever.

 

veronica pushed herself off the lockers and waited until toni grabbed her history textbook and locked her lock. the taller girl smiled at the shorter before they started walking towards class and for a moment, toni had forgotten about what they were talking about–but then she had to say it. veronica had to say the one thing that toni probably could have gone a little longer without knowing despite being so close to. it didn’t help that the serpent didn’t see it coming; that she wasn’t prepared to hear it or would ever know how to.

 

“oh yeah, and her name is cheryl blossom.”

 

cheryl.

 

if it were any other word, it’d have probably lost all meaning considering the amount of times toni said it out loud to herself. yet somehow, for some reason, it didn’t and toni still felt like she could say it a hundred more times. she liked the way it sounded; she liked the way each syllable combined beautifully to form the perfect name.

 

it was unlike her to be so drawn to someone she’d never even met before. though with how often cheryl snuck into toni’s thought you’d think that toni had known her for a lifetime and in a twisted, inexplicable way, it almost felt like toni had. the magnetic tether—like tie toni felt with cheryl was quixotically strong to feel for a stranger.

 

but, toni didn’t know her. that was the reality.


End file.
